It would be a brave person to say anything negative about beer from a brewery in business for 681 years. No need here: Maximator is first class. Even the traditional label is amazing. I like the deep, deep amber and contrasting eggshell visuals. On the palate, the roasted malt is powerful and delicious, nicely balanced with an extraordinary (by Bavarian standards) dose of hops. Rich and powerful, it would be equally at home for dinner with crab cakes or a steak or as a digestif, served in place of coffee.- Charles Finkel

Many beer drinkers in Munich, Bavaria, will tell you that their favorite local brewery is Augustiner—which I have often praised for its beautifully judged malty beers. What we have here is that brewery’s example of the classic style doppelbock. At least, that is what the name Maximator tells me. This sample has a lovely cherrywood color, but disappoints in other departments. The aroma of chocolate malted milk hints at oxidation; the body is thin and carbonic for the style; and I get a meaty (stock cubes?) character that suggests autolysed (exhausted) yeast. I hope this is just an old bottle, and not an indication of a collapse in quality.- Michael Jackson

Charles FinkelFounder of Merchant du Vin and the Pike Brewing Co., Charles Finkel is a pioneer in the marketing of craft beers in America.

Michael JacksonAuthor of Ultimate Beer, the Simon & Schuster Guide to Beer and numerous other works on drinks, Jackson has created legions of converts to fine beer.